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In quoting Ivan Illich's observation that "people who have been schooled down to size let unmeasured experience slip out of their hands," the author of this article contends that this is what is happening in education --- that we are being assimilated and schooled "down to size." Unmeasured experience, he says, is slipping out of our hands as a result, and this slippage is what needs to be resisted. Education should never be thought of as an "intervention," though resistance to it must be. To resist, the author maintains, is to intervene. The author writes that to be critical means to develop a deep cultural analysis that might provide the foundation for meaningful action in the work of education. Accomplishing this means to resist current trends toward further professionalization and specialization in the field. Intellectual work is an act of creative resistance to the pressures of specialization that are endemic to school and university work. When we can resist what works long enough to reflect on what matters, we will experience a regime change. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This paper provides a foundation for researchers in mathematics education and vocational education (now commonly called career and technical education) to begin exploring an interdisciplinary research agenda that will create new knowledge and innovations for living and working in rural areas in the 21st century. The need for interdisciplinary research is discussed, followed by definitions of interdisciplinarity. Lattuca's typology of interdisciplinary scholarship is presented, in which the nature of interdisciplinarity in teaching or research is defined by the type of question motivating it. The evolution of research methods in mathematics education over the past 25 years is outlined, moving from strictly quantitative methods to qualitative studies and multiple perspectives focused on students' learning processes. Trends in vocational education research would also seem to accommodate the conduct and characteristics of interdisciplinary research. Integration of disciplines may not be the defining characteristic of effective interdisciplinary research. Questions that transcend disciplines or that have no compelling disciplinary basis characterize true interdisciplinary research. Interdisciplinary research faces barriers based in traditional academic structures. Yet, various types of institutional support exist for conducting interdisciplinary research. Moreover, entities outside academia, including funding organizations and businesses, are increasingly influencing the research agenda. Five considerations are outlined for creating an interdisciplinary research agenda that links rural mathematics education and vocational education in meaningful ways. (Contains 32 references) (TD)

With the ultimate goal of articulating a research agenda, a November 1999 conference of researchers and educators examined the educational, social, and economic factors affecting rural adolescents' transition to the workforce. The first section of this white paper discusses the need to clarify research questions about adolescence to include a recognition of the complex choices rural adolescents make as they begin to build their lives during and after secondary education. The second section identifies key research issues, including the special qualities of the rural experience that affect rural youth, the impact of geographic factors such as remoteness, the process of sustainable socioeconomic development that creates rural jobs in both the primary and secondary labor markets, the development and implementation of school curricula that prepare students for success in their local communities and minimize the destabilization of rural communities by outmigration of youth, and the special needs of rural women and minorities. The third section discusses methodological concerns for future research and recommends longitudinal research designs for understanding the lives of rural youth and participatory action research for examining community planning and policymaking related to sustainable economic development. Contains a list of recommended research questions on rural youth and their transitions and pathways from school to work. (Contains 41 references.) (SV)

The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (Perkins III) directs state and local education providers to improve vocational and technical education programs. Most of these improvements are aimed directly at changing what teachers do and what and how students learn. The National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) is charged with evaluating the impact of Perkins III and making a report to Congress by July 2002. Of chief interest to Congress is how these recommendations for program improvement are realized in high schools and how they affect what goes on in classrooms. This paper, written to inform NAVE, argues that to understand the quality and effects of curricular and teaching changes undertaken in response to Perkins III, the evaluation must focus on teachers and classrooms. This paper has three goals: (1) to examine the principal themes and issues related to assessing quality vocational education (with an emphasis on teachers and teaching); (2) to lay out a research plan to assess quality practice; and (3) to discuss the conceptual, methodological, and practical challenges to conducting the research. (YLB)

This paper on adult informal learning is divided into four sections. Section 1 examines different conceptions of informal learning and the issues and limitations associated with alternative definitions of informal learning. Section 2 is a review of empirical research on the estimated extent, role, and outcomes of informal learning and posited linkages between informal and formal methods of learning. It reports that, according to the New Approaches to Lifelong Learning (NALL) 2000 national survey, over 95 percent of Canadian adults are involved in some form of informal learning activities that they identify as significant. Section 3 critically assesses current research approaches to studying informal learning and identifies policy-relevant knowledge gaps concerning the general level and nature of informal learning, distribution of informal learning across the adult population, impact of informal learning on individual and firm performance, and relationship of informal learning to formal skills development. Section 4 recommends optimal approaches to future research on informal learning practices with a particular focus on survey research in Canada and finds it imperative to establish benchmarks of the general incidence, basic contents and modes, and any differential patterns of intentional informal learning and training, and to continue to track trends in relation to other dimensions of adult learning. (Appendixes include NALL questions and 69 references.) (YLB)

This paper proposes a framework for discussing the objectives and content of the next Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) in school year 1999-2000. The framework focuses on school reform and the information SASS can collect to inform the United States about school reform efforts. Major reform agenda and expert opinion are reviewed, and the issues and topics common to them are identified. These topics are classified under the two major objects of school reform: teacher capacity and school capacity. Teacher capacity is defined in terms of teacher quality, career paths, professional development, and instructional practice. School capacity is defined in terms of school organization and management, decision-making authority, curriculum and instruction, parental involvement, school safety and discipline, and school resources. Part I presents background information about the SASS and its redesign. Part 2 describes the sources of input reviewed for the redesign, and part 3 synthesizes the input around the common issues or topics. Part 4 recommends the organization of these topics under the two major reform headings, and part 5 discusses several issues of survey design and methodology. The appendix contains recommendations of the SASS Redesign Technical Review Panel. Contains a bibliography. (SLD)

To benefit from the support of public and private sector leaders and to ensure that all students receive effective services, the adult education system must identify program models that have empirical evidence to support claims of effectiveness. The U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences defines evidence-based education as "the integration of professional wisdom with the best available empirical evidence in making decisions about how to deliver instruction." An evidence-based adult education system would have the following components: (1) basic and applied research; (2) program model evaluation; and (3) practitioner knowledge. These three components would work together in a cycle that continually improves program models. The main steps in establishing an evidence-based adult education system are as follows: (1) define groups of students to focus on in the initial baseline program evaluations; (2) for each group of students, identify specific achievement outcomes and tools for measuring them; (3) choose a few groups to begin with first; (4) support a team to develop the baseline program models for each group; (5) engage research methodology experts to design an evaluation of the baseline program models; and (6) publish a detailed description of the baseline program models and the program model evaluation methodology. (Contains 28 references.) (MN)

The possibility of using the concept of social capital as an analytical tool for exploring lifelong learning and community development was examined. The following were among the topics considered: (1) differences between definitions of the concept of social capital that are based on collective benefit and those that define social capital as a resource used for the benefit of those individuals with access to it; (2) community development and community division; (3) the role of the concept of social capital in theories of community development; (4) the role of the concept of social capital in research into community development education; and (5) social capital and social cohesion. A social capital framework for analyzing community development was proposed. The framework called for considering the following items when analyzing community development, including adult education: (1) the balance between internal and external networks; (2) the presence and diversity of brokers who are able to operationalize the bridging and linking of networks; (3) the levels of self-confidence and self-esteem of community members and skills in working together, including conflict resolution; (4) norms present in the community (especially norms of inclusion/exclusion and reciprocity); and (5) the extent to which the community of analysis has shared visions for its future. (Contains 60 references.) (MN)

The Life History Project at Denmark's Roskilde University is a 5-year research project that was initiated in 1998 to examine learning and participation in adult and continuing education from a life history perspective. The project was designed to build on a broad range of qualitative interview studies and case studies into learning processes. The research methodology designed for the project was grounded in the critical theory tradition and in the following premises: (1) the need to adopt a "holistic" approach that takes the learner's perspective; (2) the notion of experience and the specificity of the learning subject; (3) the need to move beyond conventional hermeneutics to "in-depth hermeneutics," which involves looking for meanings and implications going beyond the knowledge or intent of the acting, knowing, or speaking subject; and (4) the notion that a learning subject is a historical product of modernity and the need to relate it to a dynamic-utopian concept of a learning individual. (Contains 12 references.) (MN)

In August 1996 Jay P. Greene, Paul E. Peterson, and Jiangtao Du, with Leesa Boeger and Curtis L. Frazier, issued a report called "The Effectiveness of School Choice in Milwaukee." The report, referred to as GPDBF, presented data that indicated that low-income minority students in their third and fourth years of participation in the Milwaukee choice program performed better on standardized math and reading tests than did students who were not selected for the program. The GPDBF report explained why its results differed from those reported by a previous research team headed by Dr. John Witte. The Witte report found no effect of enrollment in choice schools on test performance. Witte, in the paper "Reply to Greene, Peterson, and Du," replied to the GPDBF report in late August 1996. This paper, a response to Dr. Witte, discusses methodological issues that affect the evaluation of school choice in Milwaukee. The paper argues that the Witte response failed to cast doubt on the GPDBF findings, and that Witte failed to justify his own analysis against reasonable criticism. The paper defends the GPDBF findings against three criticisms made by Witte: (1) that GPDBF used a mode of analysis inappropriate for educational research; (2) that GPDBF sample sizes were too small to allow for reasonable statistical inference; and (3) that missing cases biased the GPDBF results. Seven tables are included. (LMI)

A proposed strategy for the National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) uses school-wide data to identify secondary schools where students' academic achievement has been improving at a relatively fast rate and those where it has not. Schools with the most involvement in vocational education can be selected from the two groups. These two sets of schools can then be compared in depth to describe how vocational education is being used. The in-depth study can supplement measures of academic achievement with other measures of student attainment. Results would answer whether secondary schools where student academic achievement is improving at a relatively rapid rate organize and deliver vocational education differently than do schools where student achievement is not improving as fast and whether they have higher levels of student attainment in work-related knowledge and skill. Possible sources of data for identifying schools are accountability systems developed in various states to monitor school improvement and networks. On-site observations and interviews would describe how vocational education fits into the school's curriculum and organization and document teaching methods in vocational and non-vocational courses. This qualitative information would be used to learn what may be distinctive about vocational education in schools where achievement is increasing at a rapid rate. Quantitative data can be used to estimate how changes in student achievement are related to prior changes in school practices. (YLB)

This paper describes how an ethnographer proceeded in a study of group identify, voice, and participation in the greater culture of gay and bisexual college men at a large research university. The researcher, himself a heterosexual man, conceptualized the investigation as a crossing of cultural borders. The investigator initially attended several meetings of the campus Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Student Alliance (LGBSA) and realized that this community would not authorize his research and that he must claim the right himself. This raised the question of how to proceed with respect and sensitivity for the cultural differences involved. Through the research experience the researcher concluded that ethnographers should provide opportunities for the voice of the participants to dominate when representation rests on complex points of interpretation. A final question concerned the role of the ethnographer in dealing with issues of identity. In response, the investigator created an advisory panel of homosexual individuals, had students review transcripts from interviews, and asked all key characters to review descriptions and interpretations of their lives. (Contains 9 references.) (JB)

Data standards of the State Postsecondary Review Entities (SPRE) required under Title IV of the amended Higher Education Act are discussed, including how institutions can collect data to meet these standards. Background information is provided concerning the need for states to assume new oversight responsibilities concerning institutional eligibility to participate in Title IV financial aid programs. The functioning of SPRE in Virginia is considered, and an overview is provided on the Review Standards. The most problematic standard, Standard 17 for community colleges, is discussed in detail. This standard provides for graduation, withdrawal, job placement, and licensure pass rates. Data collection strategies relating to Standard 17 are presented both from a SPRE agency point of view, as well as from a community college perspective. Attention is focused on the results of a pilot review conducted at a Virginia community college by Virginia's SPRE by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Methodologies for calculating rates of graduation, withdrawal, job placement, and licensure are explained, along with factors that can confound interpretation of results. Implications of evolving SPRE regulations are addressed. It is noted that continued federal funding for the SPRE program is uncertain in the light of recision bills. (SW)

Uses of quantitative research for studying the relationship between school leadership and educational reform are discussed in this paper. Perceived inadequacies of quantitative methods are that such methods are inadequate for dealing with real-life complex phenomena, and that they require degrees of control that cannot be realistically achieved. Valid criticisms are that quantitative methods lack comprehensiveness and depth, "significant" results are practically trivial, and quantitative designs have failed to meet fundamental requirements of quantitative methods. However, the quantitative study of school leadership and school climate has found that: (1) teachers perceive a close relationship between leadership and climate; (2) perceptions of the school by students, teachers, and administrators are independent and interrelated; and (3) student disenchantment with school increases with increasing grade levels. Qualitative methods offer the first and necessary step of description; however, quantitative research is needed to identify predictor variables and develop theoretical models. Two tables and one figure are included. (Contains 8 references.) (LMI)

This paper reviews five broad types of research that are designed to determine whether or how teacher education has made a difference to teachers. The five genres consist of: (1) a line of reasoning about where one might look for the effects of teacher education and how one might design a research study to see the impact of teacher education; (2) comparison studies in which teachers who have received formal teaching credentials are contrasted with teachers who have not; (3) studies in which researchers ask teachers what they have learned from teacher-education programs; (4) experimental studies in which different approaches to teacher education are compared; and (5) longitudinal case studies in which teachers are followed over time to see how their thinking changes as they participate in teacher education. In this review, three questions are asked of each genre: What aspects of teacher education does it examine? What outcomes does it look for? and What kind of reasoning does it use to develop a link between these aspects of teacher education and these outcomes? Suggestions are offered for researchers on ways to strengthen their research designs. (Author/LL)

Researchers and educators sometimes need to be reminded of the broad range of factors which have a crucial impact on how writers write. This paper offers a personal checklist of six factors which have been shown to be important, yet which are easy to forget in in heat of research because of the tendency to become immersed in a particular agenda and to circumscribe too narrowly what is judged to be interesting. The six factors are: (1) task definition; (2) perceptual skills; (3) spatial aspects of text; (4) the physical environment; (5) cultural context; and (6) social context. A detailed review of each factor is given, in the course of which some salient points are made, among them that experienced writers and inexperienced writers approach revision differently, that writers must be able to perceive problems to fix or avoid them, and that the human environment has enormous impact on writing. (Six figures are included and 25 references are attached.) (SR)

This paper examines whether failure to control for family background, aptitude, high school quality, high school curriculum, and community characteristics leads to bias in estimates of the economic return resulting from postsecondary education. High school specific fixed effects were used to control for all observed and unobserved characteristics common to students from a given high school and an instrumental variables procedure was used to deal with measurement error in reported education. The estimation was conducted using panel data on several persons from each of a large number of high schools sampled in the National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972. Controlling for family background and aptitude and achievement measures led to a substantial reduction in estimates of the rate of return to education. Measurement error was not responsible for the reduction. However, the use of fixed effects to control for high school and community characteristics had only a modest effect on estimates of the rate of return to education, and controlling for high school curriculum made little difference. It is noted that this is an important finding because few data sets permit researchers to control for these factors when estimating the effect of education on wages. Included is an appendix of means and standard deviations. Contains 12 references. (Author)

Institutional research, as an established profession, has not developed a professional code of ethics. Reasons for the lack of such a code are discussed, and an outline is presented of the three major areas of institutional research ethics: treatment of research participants, research practices, and socio-political dimensions. A simple procedure of ethical analysis (the Ethical Analysis Protocol) is introduced as a method of analyzing the ethical appropriateness of institutional research studies. The ethical analysis procedure, which uses a list of questions that may be helpful in assessing the ethical strengths, constraints, or shortcomings of institutional research studies, is described in detail. Contains 10 references. (Author/GLR)

Probabilistic reasoning as developed by John Locke can provide the English teacher with a useful system for teaching the research paper since it consists of four major strategies for probing a subject: (1) the use of maxims or principles, (2) the framing of hypotheses, (3) the use of analogy, and (4) the reliance on authority. However, it is the fourth method that provides the underpinning of the freshman research paper. Because of the untrustworthiness of second-hand evidence, Locke outlined six specific criteria for weighing testimonies. Consideration of these criteria may promote the skepticism that student researchers almost entirely lack. The first criterion is the number of witnesses that report on a given incident, while the second is the integrity of the witnesses. The third criterion is the author's design, intention, and purpose or goal in writing the piece and presenting the evidence, and the fourth is the circumstances that gave rise to the discourse. The evaluation of these criteria requires the students to examine the historical and political contexts of the source to determine what motivated the author to produce the piece of writing. The fifth criterion requires students to examine the internal consistency of the document. Finally, the sixth criterion examines the contrary testimonies on the subject. By using these criteria, students can learn to analyze and evaluate sources rather than use them as support in the simple sense of the term. (HOD)

This paper analyzes the process of collaborative research at Harvard University's Educational Technology Center, focusing on the conflicts or tensions that reveal differences in the cultures of schools and universities. It clarifies differences between schools and universities in tacit assumptions and values, in customary language and norms, and in organizational structures. The introduction discusses the current need for collaboration in research on effective instructional methods and materials to effectively prepare students for a rapidly changing, information-based society. Following this, a background section discusses the Educational Technology Center's mission and approach. It also outlines the methods employed in the collaborative research process. Next, exemplary vignettes are presented to illustrate the stages in the collaborative research process: defining targets of difficulty, diagnosis of the root of the difficulty, designing and pilot testing interventions, designing and conducting teaching experiments in classrooms, and analyzing and reporting research results. The subsequent discussion focuses on themes that emerge from these vignettes about collaborative research: maps of the subject matter domain; the nature of basic and applied research; the nature of knowledge, teaching, and learning; time considerations; and ownership and responsibility. The paper concludes with recommendations for sustained commitment, reciprocal exchanges, mutual education, and rewards for collaboration. A bibliography is included. (TE)

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) invited researchers, practitioners, and users to provide recommendations that would assist NCES in the redesign of its elementary and secondary education data program. This is a draft of the first of two volumes synthesizing the papers received by July 31, 1985. In Part I, Emerson J. Elliot, Administrator of NCES, introduces the Elementary Secondary Data Redesign Project and invites public participation. The six chapters of Part II combine the diverse concepts drawn from different papers into the following coherent units: (1) "Basic Data--Descriptive Statistics"; (2) "The Need for Process Data"; (3) "Educational Outcomes"; (4) Improving Our Understanding of the Relationship between Educational Inputs and Processes, and Educational Outcomes and Life Chances"; (5) Methodological, Technological and Technical Issues on Data Collection"; and (6) "Issues on the Functions and Activities of the National Center for Education Statistics." Part III provides the synthesizers' suggestions, based on the papers, on the following topics: consistency of definitions, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, process data collection, competency-based curriculum, and ways of improving the quality of the data collection process, the use of new technologies, the need to acknowledge non-school learning, and the potential for reorganizing NCES and its new mission. Appendices include a list of authors of invited papers, comments and letters; guidelines for invited papers; and the Elementary/Secondary Education Data Acquisition Program of the NCES, May 1985. (JAZ)